Grant Requires Local Funds, Services Up Front

CROMWELL — Town officials have got to put up $41,000 if they want to get $125,000 from the state for economic development.

First Selectman Ryk Nelson said the town will have to make a special appropriation, or find $41,000 worth of in-kind services, to be eligible for a state grant to make downtown improvements.

The town is applying for a grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development for sidewalks, landscaping and benches along Main Street.

This is the same work for which the town unsuccessfully sought a federal Small Cities grant last fall. The federal program doesn't require a municipality to put up money, Nelson said.

To win the state grant, Nelson said the town must provide one- third of the grant request of $125,000 -- about $41,000 -- to prove the town's commitment to enhancing the downtown business district.

The actual amount of the town's share could be lower if the town's public works department develops engineering designs and surveys and landscaping, Nelson said. That could save about $18,000, Nelson said, meaning the town would only need a special appropriation for the remaining $23,000.

Nelson met Tuesday morning with state Sen. Biagio ``Billy'' Ciotto, D-Wethersfield; state Rep. James O'Rourke, D-Cromwell; Acting Town Planner Christine Rosenthal; Ernest Lacore, chairman of the economic development commission; and Michael Marino, public works director. The group discussed the grant application, which Nelson said will be a topic of a special board of selectmen's meeting later this month.

Many downtown merchants assumed the town already had the state money last fall. Ciotto and O'Rourke held a press conference Oct. 8 announcing the town would receive a $125,000 grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development. The legislators say they based those remarks on the personal assurance of the department's commissioner, Peter N. Ellef.

``In the business of government, all you have is your word,'' said Ciotto, who is confident the town's application will be approved when it's completed.

Some have questioned the timing of the press conference, held a month before the November elections. Both Ciotto and O'Rourke were re-elected.